


Begin Again (When You Reach The End)

by dragonshost



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Tartaros Arc (Fairy Tail), Slow Burn, but it is there, canon abandonment, lots of grieving, not super shippy, thus the relationship tag, yet another oneshot that became multi-chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2019-01-04 11:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12168102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonshost/pseuds/dragonshost
Summary: When Lucy's friends and family vanish from her life, she has to make a decision about where to go, and if she should take the hand offered her.





	1. Chapter 1

Lucy stumbled amongst the still smoking rubble, her clothes ripping on exposed rebar and concrete. The blonde picked herself up and lurched forward once more, unconcerned with the bits of her flesh she left behind on the stone and steel. It was nothing compared to the pieces of her torn soul she left in her wake.

She didn't know where she was going; no longer did she care.

Days had passed since Tartaros' defeat. But Lucy could find in her no cause for celebration. So many people were dead. Aquarius was gone, never to return to this world. The guild disbanded, and her friends – no, her  _family_  dispersed to all corners of the country and beyond. Natsu, and Happy, and that stupid note leaving her an inheritance of devastation to face alone.

As a ghost, she wandered the ruins of her home.

Once more, she tripped and fell. Agony flared in her left shoulder as it scraped against a rusted iron bar. This injury she could not ignore, and Lucy clapped a hand over the wound. Pulling her hand away, it came off covered in dripping crimson.

The Celestial Mage nearly opened her mouth to call for Wendy, only to remember at the last second the girl's absence. Shutting her mouth with a snap, Lucy grit her teeth and curled in upon herself. Hot tears stung her eyes, which she found funny in a distant, morbid, painful sort of way. She hadn't believed there were any still left inside her at this point.

Blinking back the saltwater, Lucy swallowed the nausea rising inside her. Clutching her shoulder, she tried desperately to hold back her despair, and fight her way out of her sorrow. Though, she had tried this many times before over past days, to no avail. The muck sucked and pulled at her soul down until it stuck in the mire of her own turbulent emotions.

"Oh? What's this?" a familiar baritone rumbled nearby.

Head snapping up, Lucy stared at the dark skinned man standing in front of her. It took her a moment, but she recognized him. His maroon hair, skin, and large scar made him a very distinctive individual. Not to mention his piercing, slit purple eye.

"Instant recognition isn't exactly a good thing for a wanted criminal such as myself," he mused. "Although, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't flattering to be remembered by a blonde bombshell." The man tilted his head to the side, taking in her bedraggled, bruised and torn body. "Say, aren't you the Whip-Girl? The one we tried to sacrifice to a clock?"

"Whip-Girl?" Lucy couldn't help but question. "Is that really the best you could come up with, Cobra?" To be honest, she couldn't say she was really all that surprised to see him out and about. The Poison Dragon Slayer had always struck her as the cunning and resourceful type – with the Magic Council's annihilation at the hands of Jackal there was probably no one left to make sure the prisoners were behaving inside their cells. If anyone could find a way to stage a prison break in the middle of the apocalypse, it would be the individual before her.

A feral grin full of fangs shot across the criminal's face. "I'd be more than happy to come with another nickname especially for you," Cobra offered. "For all the compliments."

Perplexed by the lack of malice in Cobra's tone, Lucy furrowed her brow. What did he want with her? Surely the Poison Dragon Slayer had better things to do than look for blondes to pester and torment.

His grin widened. "Again, I'm flattered. I would prefer you called me Erik, though. New name for a new beginning and a new guild." Then Cobra snorted. "Relatively speaking, of course – given that my name has  _always been_  Erik."

Lucy had the strangest feeling wash over her at those words. Like she'd just received a gift of great importance.

Taking a large stride forward, Cobra then dropped into a crouch in front of Lucy. "So, shall I find out for myself what's going on or are you going to tell me?"

With a struggle, Lucy pushed herself into a sitting position. "Why do you even care?" she snapped, and then winced as the words left her mouth. Probably not her greatest idea to insult a man that could in all likelihood systematically take her apart.

"You're just heaping it on, aren't you!" Cobra teased. Then his face became serious. "I heard the sound of a soul screaming in despair and pain, despite how long the fighting's been over. So I came to check it out. And here I find at the epicenter a woman I've met before." He narrowed his eye when she stubbornly refused to speak to him. "Fine, then."

A strangled sob came from Lucy, and she ducked her head, trembling. Why couldn't she just keep this to herself? She didn't want anyone to know about Aquarius! About Natsu's abandonment, and her family's decimation. It was all pain, but it belonged to her – hers alone.

"Ah." The wanted man said nothing further for a moment, and Lucy began to cry in earnest. "You lost your family, and your best friends.  _Both_  of them." After a moment, he told her, rather gruffly, "I know what that feels like."

Startled by the confession, Lucy glanced up at him. Cobra hadn't moved, still crouched in front of her. His head was tilted a little, as if he were listening intently to something. She squeaked when he suddenly stood up.

Cobra gazed down at her, a smirk making its way onto his visage. "Richard likes you, same with Meredy. Sawyer wouldn't care one way or another. Jellal respects you for a stunt you pulled at the Tower of Heaven – not to mention the fact that you're the Titania's teammate." He paused, like he was listening again. "Sorano and Macbeth... also respect you, if begrudgingly, for their defeats." His eye flicked down to her and then shrugged. "And since Jellal seems to be in the habit of picking up strays lately, he has no right to complain if I bring one myself." With that he extended a hand to Lucy. "What do you say?"

Lucy stared, incredulous, at the hand being offered to her. Was he really saying what she thought he was?

He waved the limb in front of her. "Come on. We should get that wound treated."

Somehow, she didn't think he was talking about her arm.

Did she trust him enough to take that hand? The last hand she had taken had left her. But… that first hand had brought her to her new home, even if it had been temporary in the end.

Cobra didn't say a word as she puzzled herself out, just kept his arm outstretched.

Furiously, Lucy wiped her tears. They wouldn't do her any good. They couldn't return her friends and family to her.

And so Lucy reached out and took hold of Cobra's hand.

She had nothing left to lose, anyway. There was nothing left for her here.

Pulling her to her feet, Cobra nodded at her. "There's a good girl." He dropped her hand. Shrugging out of his coat, he held it out to her. "Don't worry about getting blood on it," he told her. "Oh, and don't read too much into it – if I brought you as you're currently dressed to Jellal, he would Meteor me into the ground without waiting for an explanation. Which is... not fun. Doesn't do me any good to hear it coming if I'm lacking the time to avoid it." Cobra rolled his eye. "And then the little pink witch would laugh at me."

Lucy smiled, for the first time in days as she took the garment from him. "Thank you."

With that, Cobra turned and began to walk away. "I know you can keep up, so I suggest you get a move on!" he called over his shoulder.

Scrambling, Lucy hastened to follow him. He wasn't Natsu -  _this_  Dragon Slayer wouldn't hold her hand or drag her with him into a new life. If she wanted it, she was going to have to go after it herself. But that was fine.

It was high time for her to begin again.

Because what else were you supposed to do when you reached the end?


	2. Chapter 2

Cobra was a difficult person to follow. He didn't slow his pace one iota as he picked his way through the rubble and debris left in Acnologia's wake. Nor did he so much as spare a glance at the woman steadfastly trailing behind him.

Tripping after the Dragon Slayer, Lucy struggled to keep his coat closed around her form with one hand while simultaneously steadying herself as necessary with the other. She wanted to pause so she could properly secure the garment, but Lucy was terrified of being left behind by yet another Dragon Slayer.

Her lungs and legs both burned with the exertion she was putting them through. Lucy refused to ask Cobra to slow down or stop, however. She could do this; she wasn't a Celestial Mage for nothing. Although it was only for a short while – less than a full year – Lucy had been Natsu Dragneel's partner and had thus endured far worse than the exercise she was acquiring now. Like having her underwear set on fire. Multiple times. In a single day.

Not for the first time, Lucy bit her lip and set her jaw determinedly. No, she did not require Cobra's assistance. She was Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia. A Celestial Mage much loved by her Spirits. Aquarius' friend. Hadn't she defeated Jackal on her own, as well? Not even Natsu had managed that, but Lucy had. Anything life and this criminal threw her way, she could handle.

If she knew where she was going, then _Cobra_  would be the one eating  _her_  dust.

Lucy didn't need Natsu, in the end. She would survive just fine without him. After all, she'd been on her own for over a year before she'd even met him at Hargeon.

_So then why did it feel so much like a lie?_

The former Fairy Tail Mage shook her head violently, attempting to dispel the thoughts and encroaching despair from her head.

Onward, she pressed.

Forward, she reminded herself.

* * *

Eventually, they left the ruined city at their backs. With gratefulness, Lucy's feet trod upon the dirt road leading towards the forest. Now that she no longer had to steady herself with the lack of precarious footing, she took the opportunity to swiftly button up Cobra's coat.

Distastefully, Lucy observed that one white sleeve had been soaked through with blood from her wound. In hindsight, she realized, it should have been bandaged first. Now it was just going to rip off the outer layer of the scab forming when she removed the coat. Also, it was a pity about the stain. It had been a rather pretty garment beforehand.

Looking up, she noticed that Cobra's longer gait had gained him some distance on her.

Lucy trotted after him, closing the gap until she was walking beside the criminal.

It was then that Cobra finally deigned to glance at her. There was a smirk upon his face. "There," he rumbled. "See? I  _told_  you that you were capable of keeping up."

Heart soaring at his words, Lucy nodded.

With a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgement, Cobra returned to ignoring her once more.

* * *

The silence between the pair endured, long past after they entered the forest. Sticking to the marked path, Cobra continued to lead Lucy away from the tattered remnants of her old life.

It had been almost four hours since Lucy had taken his hand. Before that, she'd wandered the ruins of Magnolia for an indeterminate period of time – so lost in her haze of misery Lucy was unable to pinpoint whether she'd haunted her former home for minutes, hours, or even days. It had all blurred together into one indistinguishable memory of anguish and broken scenery.

Exhaustion was setting in, and the light was beginning to prematurely fade within the dense tree line. Lucy had to face the facts – no matter the strength of her will, her body had a limit to what it was capable of outputting. A tremble had set upon her legs, long past the stage of burning muscles. Each breath the Celestial Mage dragged into her sore lungs was hoarse, and grated roughly against her throat. Her arm throbbed with a dull ache, and her head felt light.

When Cobra came to a sudden halt in front of her (when had she fallen behind again?) Lucy's reaction time wasn't swift enough to prevent her from colliding with the Dragon Slayer's back. His indigo eye met hers with a frustrated glare.

"Sorry," she mumbled, stepping away. Her retreat came to an abrupt stop when Cobra grabbed her injured arm below the elbow – thankfully far below the wound itself. Confused, she glanced up at him. "What?"

He stared at her for a long moment before dropping the limb. With a gesture, he indicated the embankment of the stream they had come to a pause alongside. "Sit."

Even more perplexed than before, Lucy obediently followed his instruction. Carefully stepping down the embankment beside a bridge, Lucy lowered herself onto a large rock jutting out over the water. She sighed heavily, her leg muscles quivering from strain. Not just her lower half, she soon realized. Tremors of exhaustion wracked her entire body. Lucy's heart was beating rapidly, and her skin was flushed. Nausea climbed up her throat and she choked back bile.

Cobra hopped down and sat next to Lucy on her left. "I meant up there," he pointed at the top of the embankment. "But here works too, I guess."

Embarrassment flowed through her, much like the stream she was beside.

"Take off the coat," he stated. "I want to look at your wound."

Unfastening the garment, Lucy half-shrugged out of it. Reluctant, she peeled off the left sleeve slowly. Biting her lip, she removed the cloth and tried not to yelp as the newly formed scabs went with the material. "Shouldn't we have done something about this earlier?" she hissed as crimson blood flowed anew down her arm.

"Probably," Cobra admitted. Taking the stained, formerly white coat, he tossed it up and over the embankment. He paused, inspecting her arm without yet touching it. Then he eyed her torn and tattered outfit just as critically. "I take it you don't have a medical kit stashed somewhere in there?"

Lucy huffed at his perusal. "No," she snapped. "I'm not Erza – I don't stuff things down my cleavage if that's what you were wondering."

His eyebrow rose. "Actually… no, that honestly did not occur to me. But that's an interesting thought."

"Not until you see her pull three Exceeds out of there."

Cobra outright blanched. From the strength of his reaction, Lucy surmised that he must have heard or seen her memory of the incident. "That's… terrifying," he muttered.

Nodding, Lucy consoled him. "There is no shame in admitting that." She reached for her keys, blinking back a wave of dizziness that washed over her. "If it's a medical kit we need, though…" Lucy suddenly squeaked as she felt a hand on her neck.

With a jerk backwards, Lucy toppled over backwards out of Cobra's reach. The movement caused black fireworks to dance along the edges of her vision. "What are you doing?!" Vaguely, she was thankful for the rock being the size that it was or she would have fallen into the stream. Which looked rather deep to her.

An indignant growl was her answer. "Trying to check your pulse." Cobra rolled his eye. "You know, to  _help_?"

Swallowing thickly, Lucy slowly sat up again. "Give me some warning, then! And can't you just check my wrist?"

"Your left wrist isn't reliable right now. You were reaching for your keys with your right arm. I could check your chest pulse, but I assumed you would slap me for trying."

Beginning to calm down, Lucy had to acknowledge that Cobra had a point. "Okay. Still, you could have warned me first." She thrust her right arm at Cobra.

Amused, he held it in one hand and placed two fingers of his other over her pulse. "I'll keep that in mind."

Something occurred to her. "Wait, can't you just hear my heartbeat? You're a Dragon Slayer."

Cobra snorted. "I also hear my own heartbeat, the heartbeats of the birds in the trees around us, that of the fish in the stream, and all sorts of other creatures in the vicinity. This helps me distinguish yours more accurately."

"Oh."

Lucy observed the Poison Dragon Slayer carefully as he silently counted her heartbeats. Why was he helping her, she wondered. What was in this for him? He'd mentioned understanding what it was like to be alone, though was that his only reason? It didn't make any sense to her. Not she wasn't grateful, of course.

Speaking of… where was the rest of his group? They'd traveled quite a distance already. Back in Magnolia, Cobra had made it sound as if they were nearby when they clearly weren't. This far from the city… surely it was out of his Soul Listening Magic's auditory range? How had he heard her, then? Had been closer, only to have moved their encampment later?

"They didn't," Cobra stated, withdrawing his hand. Only to reach up to Lucy's head again. Instead of going for her neck this time, he swept her sweaty bangs out her eyes and placed the back of his palm on her forehead. "You have a fever, and an elevated heartrate," he announced, finally retracting his hand for good. "You're dehydrated."

"I am?"

"Yes. Quite." He seemed deeply annoyed, as if it were an inconvenience to him.

It probably was.

His lip curled in a snarl. "That's not it," Cobra growled at her, running a frustrated hand through his maroon locks and turning his gaze away. Dropping his hand to his side, he muttered under his breath too quietly for Lucy to understand. Then he looked at her again. "Sorry," he said, gruffly. "About your wound and the dehydration. I forget sometimes that not everyone has a Dragon Slayer's enhanced constitution."

Incredulous, Lucy gave the Poison Dragon Slayer a hard stare. So… he wasn't frustrated with her? He was… he was angry at  _himself_.

"When was the last time you ate or drank?" he demanded to know, breaking through her thoughts.

Lucy had to think about it. She couldn't recall, actually. Before she had started wandering around Magnolia – that much she knew. Although, she wasn't entirely certain how long she'd done that for.

Cobra sighed again, rubbing the scar over his eye. "Your spirit. It has a medical kit?"

Glowering, Lucy corrected, "Virgo. And yes, SHE does."

"We're camping here tonight," he ignored Lucy, and her subsequent outrage at the snubbing. "I'll get some food for supper – you get that bandaged properly."

With that, Cobra promptly jumped into the water, sinking to his chest. Forcing his way upstream, he waded to who knew where – rounding a bend and disappearing from sight.

"Princess. I understand you are in need of assistance?"

Lucy yelped at the voice of her pink haired, maid outfit clad spirit right next to her.

Somewhere upstream, and out of sight, Cobra laughed at her.

Again, she wondered why he was helping her.

"Princess? Would you like me to carry you to the top?" Virgo offered.

Shaking off her thoughts, Lucy smiled at her friend. "I would appreciate that. Thanks, Virgo. Could you get me some water that's safe to drink as well? Apparently I'm dehydrated."

"Certainly."

Musing on the strange man's actions and thoughts would have to wait for a while longer.


	3. Chapter 3

Virgo set Lucy down gently on a stump a short distance from the bridge. "Please wait here, Princess," the pink haired spirit advised. "I shall return shortly with supplies." With that, she disappeared in a shimmer of light.

The glowing motes left over from the spirit's departure gently floated upwards, before winking out entirely. Lucy watched them blink out, one by one. Just like the lives and futures the demons of Tartaros had snuffed out. And her friends, vanishing one by one from her life. Aquarius. Natsu. Happy. Gray. Juvia. Wendy. Carla. Everyone.

A gentle breeze ruffled her hair, cold against her sweat soaked skin. Lucy shivered, drawing her legs up onto the stump with her. Defensively, she wrapped her arms around them and rested her head upon her knees. In the trees above, the leaves rustled with the same wind that chilled her. Birds called out to each other amongst the branches, sonorous in their discourse. Somewhere, a small creature scampered up one of the great behemoths, tiny claws scratching against the bark. Off to her side, the stream gushed as it flowed against the rocks of the embankment, and hit the supports of the bridge. The smell of water permeated the air, along with the sharp scent of the woods themselves – living, late blooming flowers underlain with the decay of fallen vegetation.

Despite the noise and activity around her, with Virgo and Cobra not present Lucy suddenly felt acutely _alone_.

Hot tears pricked her eyes, and Lucy buried her head in her knees. She tried desperately to hold back the sobs that threatened to overtake her. She couldn't allow herself to cry; she wasn't supposed to cry anymore. Lucy was moving on with her life, wasn't she? Weakness wasn't something she could let in. If she had been stronger, she could have defeated that demon on her own and Aquarius wouldn't have needed to sacrifice herself. If she had been able to stand on her own, then Natsu wouldn't have been forced to constantly rescue her and maybe he would've taken her with him to train. If only she was… _more_ than _just Lucy_ she could've held her guild together despite Makarov's disbanding it.

But she was just Lucy. Not even of Fairy Tail, anymore.

Behind her, the waters in the stream stirred and roiled in their bed.

"Princess?"

Lucy's head jerked up, and she stared at the two spirits standing before her. Loke and Virgo looked at her with great concern. Clutching a medical kit with so much force her hands shook, Virgo's eyes were wide at the state her key-holder was in.

Loke promptly dropped down to Lucy's level, and gathered her in his arms. As she let out a wail of misery and inner pain, the lion spirit held her tighter, murmuring over and over to her how much he loved her. "I love you Lucy, we all do. To the stars and back. Beyond human memory. You will always have a home with your spirits, Lucy. You will always be wanted."

She mourned then, too, for Aquarius. For the loss of her very first friend. For Loke's loss as well; Fairy Tail was just as much his home as the Celestial World. Loke rubbed circles on her back, and rubbed his cheeks, cat-like, against her head.

Virgo joined them, finally setting the kit down. Then she, too, wrapped her arms around the pair. Mindful of Lucy's injury, she squeezed them both tightly.

Only once Lucy had calmed down did the spirits withdraw. Though Loke did not do so completely, instead holding her at arm's length.

"I'm sorry," Lucy whispered, her throat clogged.

The ginger-haired man smiled at her, looking very much out of place in the forest in his suit and tie. "Don't be, Princess. We're here for you. Always."

Picking up the kit once more, Virgo turned towards her master. "Princess. I really must dress your wound."

She nodded in acquiescence. "Loke, you can let go of me, now."

He pouted, and crushed her to his chest in petulance. "No!" came his protest. "I want to hold my beautiful, beloved Princess forever!"

Lucy giggled and gently pushed on her ridiculous lion's chest.

Taking the hint, he drew back and regarded her for a moment. "I'm sorry Lucy." Gulping, he added, "I wish I could have changed things."

Biting her lip, Lucy felt tears begin to well up in her eyes again. "Thank you, Loke. I know you would have."

Grasping her chin with his fingertips, Loke placed a peck on her nose, causing her to scrunch it up. A light smack was his reward, and he chuckled. After a moment, he turned somber again. "I have to leave for now, but I will be back later tonight, alright? I promise."

Swallowing thickly, Lucy gave him a firm nod. "I'll hold you to it, stupid lion."

After giving her hair one last, affectionate stroke, the spirit returned to his world.

"Shall we begin, Princess?" Virgo inquired, kit already open with several dangerous looking implements protruding from it.

Lucy sweatdropped. "Um… can I have some water, first…? Dehydrated, remember?"

* * *

When Cobra rounded the corner, he paused upon seeing the new campsite awaiting him. With a critical eye, he judged it as properly set up far enough away from the embankment on firm soil. A small fire pit had been dug, with rings of stones around it to prevent spreading. Firewood was piled a couple of feet from it, but an actual fire had yet to be lit. Cobra was rather curious about the fact that only a single tent was in evidence, however.

The tang of saltwater hung in the air. He didn't need to hear souls or thoughts to know that the blonde woman had been crying again.

Though, he'd heard her every thought earlier anyway.

A crown of golden locks appeared from within the solitary tent. "You're back!" she exclaimed.

The unfiltered joy in the statement and in her mind at his appearance made him want to take a step back and retreat. Cobra found it deeply unsettling. However, determined to not show any of this to the woman, he merely held up the string of fish he'd caught. Having already cleaned and gutted them (sometimes having claws was useful), they just needed to be cooked. "I brought fish," he stated, somewhat unnecessarily.

With mild horror, he listened as the world's bottom dropped out for the Celestial Mage at the statement. Powerful waves of nostalgia washed through her, as the simple phrase dredged up all the memories she had of sharing charred, fishy meals with her former partners.

Shit. Maybe he should've said something else. Or caught something else. Or just… something. He wasn't any good at this whole caring and consideration thing Jellal had been pushing onto him and the rest of the Oracion Seis. Cobra's whole life, he'd only cared for Cubelios and the rest of the world could just burn, thank you. Good riddance to it if it did and even better if he were a contributing factor in its demise.

Jellal was going to skin him if he found out Cobra had made the Titania's precious teammate and friend cry. Which felt like a double-standard, honestly. Jellal could flay Cobra alive but the instant Cobra suggested doing it to other people… Not to mention what the tiny, pink-haired demon would do in retaliation.

Luckily, he didn't have to do anything as the woman shook herself off and set her jaw in determination. "I'll be out in a moment, and then I can help cook them." Disappearing back into the tent, she started up an argument with the other occupant. "No, Virgo. I want something with a high collar."

Cobra winced. For a number of reasons.

Mostly, he was somewhat upset by her clothing request. Not because it would put her in a greater state of dress (face it, no matter how much cloth you had had those things were going to be _very_ noticeable). The true reason he felt… well, _felt_ at all, was due to her covering up the mark. Cobra liked the mark. It was a scar. Although it was not a raised or depressed piece of flesh like most physical wounds left, Cobra still considered it a scar. It was a blue one, granted. And one of the soul, rather than the flesh. But it was still evidence of a near-fatal wound survived. If there was one thing the woman was, it was a survivor. As a survivor himself, it pissed Cobra off that she would conceal it. Scars were supposed to be a thing of _pride_ , the spirit of a warrior written into skin and blood and bone.

Also, she was… oh what did Meredy call it again? When someone was slapping on a happy face and pretending that bad things hadn't happened to them? Pink clouding?

Regardless of the term's name, this wasn't healthy. It wasn't out of place, either, with what little he knew of the Celestial Mage. Though he'd never spoken to her until that morning, he was familiar with her soul's normal tone and resonance from their previous encounters. He just hadn't given a shit before.

Which made him question, and not for the first time, why he did _now_.

* * *

Later that night, after a very awkward meal where neither said much of anything, Lucy helped Cobra clean up. Cobra then took the food remains to bury a good distance away from the campsite, eager to escape at least the blonde's physical proximity, if not her mental one, for a little while. She'd done nothing but stare into the flames of the campfire for most of the meal, thoughts on the Fire Dragon Slayer turning over and over in her head. Wondering what she could have done differently to make him stay with her.

It was frustrating to hear.

But if there was one thing Cobra understood best, it was that mental and emotional wounds far outlasted the physical ones inflicted by whips and fists.

With a grumble and no small amount of irritation, Cobra returned to the campsite.

Only to freeze in his tracks as Lucy greeted with a second, genuine smile.

Confusion reigned inside the criminal's mind. What was going on here? He didn't… he didn't understand. What was this shit?

A glimpse of her mind revealed only a part of the answer.

Gratitude? She was… grateful. Just because he showed up.

It wasn't an emotion he was familiar with. He didn't like it. It was uncomfortable, and foreign and just plain _weird_.

And it made him want to run away.

But he was _Cobra._ He didn't do things like that. Other people ran away from _him_. One former Fairy shouldn't be able to rattle him this much in just a few hours.

Cobra was beginning to wonder if he'd made a good decision in bringing her along, after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Wariness. There was no mistaking the emotion in Cobra; Lucy had seen far too much of it. In her mirror. In her father's face, when confronted with her Celestial magic. In the eyes of wild animals.

She felt a twinge in her heart, and her smile faltered. Without a word, Lucy turned her back towards the dragon slayer, and her face to the fire. The flames flickered, and danced. So much like Natsu's magic. And just like their partnership, it would eventually be snuffed out. The teenager wrapped her arms around her knees, ignoring the ache in her injured arm. Her face burned with shame. Right. This wasn't like how it was with Natsu. Cobra and Natsu were very different people. Lucy and Cobra weren't friends. They were former enemies. Wariness was to be expected.

"Why," wondered Lucy, her voice soft, and threatening to break. "Why did you decide to bring me along?"

"Because I felt like it," he stated, his voice emanating from her left - and far closer than she'd thought he was. Lucy's spine stiffened in surprise. She hadn't heard him approaching at all.

Peering at him, she commented, "That doesn't really seem like a good reason." After all, they were enemies. Once.

"Should you really be complaining in this situation?" he wondered. Cobra suddenly reached out to Lucy, and she flinched away from his hand.

Annoyed, he growled, "Just stay still for a second. I don't plan to kill you or anything else."

Uncomfortable, Lucy nodded. A second later, she felt his warm palm pressed against the back of her head. "Lean forward."

She did so. A scant few moments passed in tense silence, before he released her. "You can straighten up, now."

Once she had, Lucy turned to stare at him. "What was that all about?"

Cobra held up his hand for her to see the contents. "You had a passenger."

Lucy let out a screech at the sight of squirming, segmented legs coming from his hand, and skootched away from the dragon slayer, hoping to put some distance between herself and that...  _thing_. Cobra winced in pain at the volume of her yell. "What the fuck?!" he hissed. "It's just a fucking spider!"

"But it's huge!" She pointed at the creature struggling within Cobra's grasp.

"Yeah, I think I noticed." Cobra rolled his eye. "What are you bent out of shape for? It's not even particularly poisonous."

" _Particularly?!_ " Her voice reached heretofore unknown octave altogether with that single word. Lucy leaned as far away as she could from him. "How did I not notice that thing crawling on me?!"

"How the fuck should I know?" With an exasperated sigh at Lucy's hysterics, Cobra flung the arachnid off somewhere into the forest. "There. It's gone. Happy now?"

Lucy shuddered in revulsion. She was... she was pretty sure that spiders weren't supposed to scream. ...Right? And definitely not like that one just did. "T-thanks," she responded.

"You're welcome," Cobra grumbled.

To ease the tension, she joked, "Well... that wasn't what I was expecting. I was wondering if there was another pulse point on my back, for a minute there. And if you had some sort of fetish for it."

Amused, Cobra snorted at the comment. "No," he replied. "Though if you were really so keen to have your pulse checked again, you should have just said so. I could check ones in your thighs."

She threw her shoe at him. To her great frustration, it sailed harmlessly past Cobra. The man hadn't even attempted to dodge the makeshift projectile.

"Now that was just pathetic."

His smug expression was begging to be slapped right off his face.

"I'm going to bed," she huffed. Lucy stood up, only to realize a second later that she was sans one shoe, and the tent was a good five steps away. Five steps full of dirt, rocks, and sharp twigs.

Cobra grinned maliciously at her as she promptly sat back down. "What's wrong, little  _Princess_?" he mocked. "Don't like the dirt? Should I retrieve your glass slipper?" He glanced over his shoulder for a moment. "Actually, you might want to abandon it. I think the spider's taken it over."

Lucy wrinkled her nose in disgust. "It can have it."

She let out another shriek as she was suddenly lifted into the air.

"Then I shall whisk you off your feet!" came the playful voice of Loke, as he re-positioned his beloved master in his arms. The Spirit beamed at Lucy, starlight cascading off his body. "Comfortable?"

"Not... really," Lucy muttered, wrapping her arms behind her lion's neck to balance herself (an action that seemed to please Loke to no end). "Is there a reason you're picking me up out of the blue?"

"Virgo said she could sense you getting tired. So I've come to tuck you into bed!"

The look of revulsion on Cobra's face was almost worth the embarrassment Lucy felt at her Spirits' pampering. "I can do that just fine on my own, Loke."

"Nope. I'm gonna do it as a gesture of my love for you!"

Lucy swore she saw sparkles.

He spun on his heels and strode to the tent, closing the short distance in a moment's time. Pushing aside the tent flap, the Spirit and girl entered the dim space. "No following!" Loke ordered Lucy's traveling companion.

"Why the hell would I?!" Cobra's muffled protest arose on the other side of the tent.

Loke did not deign to respond.

As he gently set Lucy down upon the bedroll she and Virgo had prepared earlier, Lucy couldn't help but give him one last squeeze before relinquishing her grip around his neck. "Loke?" she asked, as he set about piling blanket after blanket on top of her.

"Yeah?" he answered, tucking in the edges around his key holder.

The Celestial mage was quiet for a minute. "It's been a long time since someone's tucked me in," she admitted, her cheeks warm. Though whether it was from happiness or the sheer number of blankets she was wrapped up in was hard to say.

With a smile, Loke bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'll be happy to tuck you in whenever you want. Just say my name, and I'll be at your side in an instant! Do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?"

She nodded. "I'm not very tired," she confessed. Lucy fell silent as Loke settled in next to her. Outside, she could hear Cobra grumbling to himself. Mentally, she made a note to apologize in the morning for not helping with dampening the fire. Though he probably could hear her silent apology already.

Lucy turned on her side, so she could see her Spirit's face. Loke's skin possessed a slight effervescence, rendering him clearly visible in the dark tent. His eyes crinkled over the rim of his sunglasses. "It's night," Lucy pointed out to him. "Do you really need those in the dark?"

"I got used to them over the three years I spent in this world."

"...Loke," Lucy began, but Loke shook his head at her, forestalling what she was about to say.

"I can tell you're about to apologize again for the guild," he stated bluntly. "You really don't need to, Lucy."

"But..."

Loke shook his head again. Reaching out, he stroked her hair with his palm. "I still have my most important person with me," he said. "You. You're the only reason I was able to stay longer with everyone in the first place. I'm eternally grateful." He winked at her. "And that's no mere turn of phrase for a Celestial Spirit!"

Swallowing a lump forming in her throat, Lucy said, "But Aquarius..."

"Not your fault," Loke comforted her. "Way I heard it, she's the one that brought it up. She knew what she was getting into, what she was asking of you. And..." His smile trembled, threatening to falter. "That decision is what saved your life. You should hear her though; she hasn't once stopped boasting about your courage and fortitude, and how you were able to summon three Zodiac Spirits  _and_  the Celestial Spirit King! She's so proud of you. We all are."

Lucy's lip trembled, and her eyes stung with unshed tears. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Princess."

She felt her eyelids grow heavy, the day's exertions and emotional turbulence catching up to her. Just as she was about to drift off, she felt the warmth of Loke's palm on her cheek. "Lucy? Are you still awake?"

"Mmm hmm," she replied, her eyes already closed. "What is it?"

Silence passed between them.

"I love you," Loke said suddenly, his words much less brash than when he normally stated them. This time, they were whispered, tender, and gentle. He rubbed the pad of his thumb in soothing circles on her cheek, just under her eyelid. "I love you so much."

A smile spread across Lucy's face, and she brought one hand up to place over the one on her cheek.

"I love you too, Loke."


	5. Chapter 5

Breakfast was… not horribly awkward for Lucy.  In fact, it was almost pleasant.

When she’d woken up, it was a different story.  She’d reached out, groping around for a warm body.  Her search revealing only the cold, hard surface of the tent.  She’d snapped awake with a deep, yawning, cold emptiness in her chest.  Of course Loke hadn’t stayed, Lucy realized a moment later.  He’d had to go back to the Celestial World at some point.  But his absence still hurt.

Crawling out of her tent, every joint stiff and making popping sounds, Lucy was greeted by the sight of a campfire.  Cobra sat beside it, frying up more fish.  At her curious stare, he just shrugged and said, “It’s what’s available.”

Which was fair enough, but it led Lucy to wonder just how often Cobra and his friends ate fish, and how often she herself would be expected to.  Fish could get old really, really fast.

Another shrug was her only response.

This did not bode well for her dietary intake for the future.

“What did you expect?!” Cobra grumbled.  “We’re criminals on the run!  It’s not like we can regularly eat at a five-star restaurant!”

“Regularly?” she teased, hauling her aching body in front of the fire.  “So sometimes is alright?”

He passed her a stick spitted with two small fish.  “Yeah, though the worst criminals tend to fill the place up fast so you gotta make a reservation in advance.”

Lucy giggled, feeling much lighter inside than before.  “That’s truer than you realize.”  She couldn’t even begin to list all of the crimes committed by the ruling class that she’d been forced to entertain at her father’s parties growing up.  Some of them even had more extensive body counts than Cobra likely did.  Not that they would ever face the law for the things they did.  And she’d had to smile politely at them the entire time, and pretend she didn’t want to smash their teeth in, or it was face…  She cut off the thought there, unwilling to think further on the topic.

“Where did you sleep last night?” she asked suddenly, changing the subject before Cobra’s magic found out more about herself than it already had.

Instead of replying, Cobra grunted and jerked his head to the tree hollow behind him.

Mortification flooded Lucy.  “I’m so sorry.  I didn’t even consider… I mean… I should have asked Virgo for another tent for you to sleep in.”

“It’s fine,” he stated bluntly.  “I’m used to it.”

And now it was officially awkward.

So, so awkward.

* * *

 

Walking next to the blonde woman was damned uncomfortable.

Not because he could hear her thoughts.  Well… not just because of that fact alone.  Cobra was long used to being privy to society’s nastiest secrets shelved deep into the recesses of peoples’ minds.  Brain had been a member of Magical Research, after all.  Naturally, his pets were his subjects as well.  Broken down mentally and physically to be living anti-links to contain Zero.  Growing up in The Tower of Heaven.  Mind being flayed at every turn by the darkest parts of humanity.  So handling one person’s thoughts and secrets was no big deal.  By comparison, hers was relatively tame.

No, there was something about Lucy herself that rendered him profoundly uncomfortable.  It couldn’t just be the gratitude she’d displayed over the mere act of _returning_ after dumping the damn food waste (holy _fucking_ shit that wasn’t anything to be _grateful_ for. He was a criminal with a number of bodies under his belt, and he’d nearly taken her friend’s arm off once. Grateful was the very last thing she should _ever_ feel for him).  But though it didn’t sit well with him, he’d ignored far worse things than the odd positive feeling.  So it had to be something else that had him suddenly rebelling against his impulse to take her with him (which, upon reflection, wasn’t really like him at all, either).

Gods, she freaked him out.

After she’d gone to bed, he’d doused the fire and tried not to consciously listen in to her conversation with her spirit.  Relegating their voices to background noise proved harder than he would have hoped for, however.  In the end he’d ended up hearing all of it.  Her bond with her spirits was nothing like Sorano’s had been – it seemed to be closer to his relationship with Cubelios.  What in Earthland had he been thinking?  She still had her spirits; she didn’t need him or Crime Sorciere to help pick her up again.

Then why did she continue to follow him?

Soon they’d leave the forest and he could pass her off to Jellal and the others.  Then maybe he’d get some semblance of peace inside his head.  Thankfully, they would be there in a few minutes and then…

“Are we almost there yet?”

Cobra grit his teeth.  No phrase had ever effortlessly aroused so much hatred in him as this one did.  “Almost.”

“Thank the stars,” Lucy wheezed.  Keeping up with Cobra this time had been a great deal easier than the trek had been the previous day.  Having actual food in her stomach, not to mention water, did wonders for her endurance.  But it was getting late in the day, and exhaustion had signed a lease and was already moving in furniture.

Unfortunately for Cobra, this meant that she talked a lot more. She did realize that he could hear her every thought, right?  There was zero reason to chatter at him.  With horror, he realized that she might actually be worse than Meredy and Richard.  Was this karmic justice for all of the murder?  It had to be, right?  Something out in the universe just really, really hated his guts.  It would explain all of the shit he’d gone through in his life up to this point.  Something clearly wanted him to suffer.

More time passed in silence, Lucy’s brain finally short circuiting from her weariness and ceasing its jibber jabber.

By the time she summoned the energy to _think_ about asking again about how much longer, Cobra was able to (with great relief) indicate the hill before them.  “Just on the other side.”

The former Fairy Tail mage nodded, excitement and trepidation warring within her.

Cobra sympathized, as he did not relish the upcoming conversation with his new guild either.  For different reasons though, as he was still utterly convinced that they would welcome the blonde with open arms for the most part.  Or at least the ones whose opinion mattered would.

Squinting into brightness, Lucy questioned aloud, “I think that hill has a pink spot.”

“It does,” Cobra sighed heavily, not ready for what was inevitably coming next.

The spot swiftly resolved into the form of a person as it approached.  Her pink ponytail waving as vigorously as her arm, Meredy called out to them, “Erik!  You’re back!  Is there someone with you?”

It took Lucy a moment to process just who ‘Erik’ was.  Then she felt silly.  Cobra had mentioned that to her before, hadn’t he?  It was hard to shake off the name she had previously known him by, but that wasn’t any excuse for her failure to call him by his preferred name.  She’d do better, she resolved.

There was a lot of ‘doing better’ that she needed to accomplish, she realized.  New situation, so time for a new outlook.  Lucy made the promise to herself, and swore to keep it.

Meredy froze in her tracks the second she came close enough to recognize Lucy.  Her jaw dropped, and she pointed.  “L-Lucy!” she exclaimed.  “Erik!  You brought Lucy?!”

The Celestial mage waved slightly, donning a tiny smile at Meredy’s reaction.  “Hello, Meredy.  Been a while.”

No answer met her greeting, as Meredy continued to stare at the other young woman.  Suddenly, she did an about-face and raced back up the hill.

“What…?” Lucy began to question, halting when Cobra – no, Erik – groaned exasperatedly.

“This is not going to be fun,” he muttered in response to her curious gaze.

“Jellal!” Lucy faintly heard Meredy call out.  “Jellal, you’re not going to believe this!  Erik brought home a _girlfriend!_   It’s _Lucy!_ ”

Jellal’s nigh-screech of surprise rang out across the space between them.  “ _What?!_ ”

“And it begins.  Time to face the music.”

Lucy had a feeling that the awkwardness between them was going to continue on for some time.


End file.
